Time and Space
by LunaBelieves
Summary: Snippets of Tommy, Merton and Lori with some appearences by Stacy over the seasons. Will be K-T
1. Mahogany

"I wanna be a werewolf!"

Tommy scrunched his nose a bit. Who would want to be a werewolf? But then, the boy who spoke, Merton Dingle, had never been normal, not even close. So it came as no surprise that when asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, the other boy replied he wanted to be a werewolf.

--

--

"Why werewolves?"Merton looked up from his sandwich at the boy across from him. Tommy Dalkins was talking to him. They had never spoken before. The mahogany table seemed like a dark brown sea between them as the more popular boy waited for his reply.

"Why not?" He finally said with a small shrug.

"They're monsters." Tommy said. "They kill people for no reason."

"Not all of them. I believe there could be a werewolf who is good." He pulled a large, musty looking book from his backpack and placed it between them. It showed Merton's extensive research into not just werewolf lore, but the lore of many other 'monsters' as well. "I hope some day, I can be that good werewolf."

"As long as it's you." Tommy said and walked away.


	2. Pewter

Merton had a way of shocking people.

It wasn't just his clothes. Most denizens of Pleasantville seemed to be used to seeing him all decked out in black, though there were a few who were usually caught off guard by his attire. It wasn't just his inky hair, always sticking up in meticulous spikes. Tommy couldn't count how often the Goth normally shocked him. Whether it was his knowledge of the occult and supernatural, his high IQ or the reaper tattooed on his chest (Still temporary. He didn't dare go against his mother's wishes on that. Yet.). Yet this was by far the latest in his shock factor.

"If you don't stop touching it, it'll get infected." He warned.

"Excuse me for not getting a good look when she did it." Merton muttered, his eyes still on his reflection, fingering his latest accessory in his pursuit of individuality.

"And it doesn't hurt?"

"No. Aches a bit, but that'll stop soon."

"And you know this how?" After he spoke, Tommy wondered if he should retract that question.

"Becky got hers done. I had to hear her moaning about it for months." Was Merton's reply.

"And yet you still got one?"

"Pain for the price of being a rebel, Tommy."

Tommy rose and got closer, looking at the small pewter skull charm in his best friend's ear. "You're mom's gonna make you get rid of it, rebel boy."


	3. Blush

It's always been the same in the end; Tommy gets the girl.

He's gotten his share of the ladies. Too bad they all turn out to be monsters usually hell bent on his death or Tommy's. It makes him wary now when a girl likes him. He looks at a pretty face and wonders what sort of evil lurks beneath it. He didn't need to judge Lori though. It wasn't the school girl uniform or the blonde hair. Something inside hit him like electricity and ran through his spine. It felt a lot like love. And in the end, she chose Tommy. Before, it was just the pair of them, fighting evil. With Lori around, he's the third wheel. They win a fight and Lori jumps into Tommy's arms to give him a kiss. When he tries a snappy comeback to the monster, she rolls her eyes and his cheeks heat up. He's always blushing around them, the stupid sidekick who was kidnapped or cursed and they had to save him.

One, just once, he wants to be the hero.


	4. Sepia

It was in the bottom of a box from long ago. Back when her hair was cropped short and she liked it that way. Back when she had transferred from Pleasantville Catholic her senior year to Pleasantville High. She's in the middle, something rare in most of the pictures from that time. Tommy's on her right, grinning from ear to ear like he's won the lotto. It's easy to see this picture was taken sometime when they were dating. He never smiled like that when they were 'just friends'. He's wearing the famous 1985 Eagles' jersey from what can be seen and there's no hint, no trace that Tommy is the mysterious 'Pleasantville Werewolf'. No bared, drooling fangs, no glowing eyes. Merton's on the left, also grinning, though his always seems to look more mischievous than anything and it's hard to tell by glancing at the picture what he's thinking. Perhaps he's figured out how to possibly cure Tommy or maybe he has a new ancient tome in his collection of well worn books. Or maybe it's just a smile for them surviving another monster, possibly something that wanted to kill him most of all. The picture is worn and frayed at the edges, from being clutched too often and too hard. Parts are faded too, from the tears she's spilled onto it from missing that part of her life. And yet their faces are clear, perfectly in focus. No red dots making their eyes look demonic, no blur hidden in the background (That Merton would most surely claim as a ghost, swiftly looking up spirit photography on the internet). Those happy teenage faces have stood the test of time, to always remind her what the three of them had.


	5. Red

_It's the same every running through the trees, chasing his Prey. Panting, sniffing for It as It tries to get away. It screams, trips, tries to be faster. He knows Its struggle is futile; tonight He will feast. The Prey falls again and this time, cannot get back up. He dives and pins It to the dirty ground, sniffing, smelling the fear._

_"Please," It says, a familiar voice. "Please don't." The cries touch something deep inside for a moment, but something that has been lost. He is too far gone to change now and let The Prey escape. He lets out a long howl before the kill, before he is covered in Its blood. The Prey screams until the very end, when he tears Its throat out._

He always wakes screaming.

--

--

Stacy's shirt is red today. A strikingly beautiful color that brings out her soft skin well. Yet Tommy can't bring himself to stare today. The dream is still bothering him and today of all days, she's dressed in red. Like the blood in his worst nightmares. He tried to lie to himself the first night. Tell himself it was anyone but her. Even if it had to be Merton in her place. Anyone he was murdering besides the girl of his dreams. She looks over and gives him a dazzling smile that makes his heart race, that could bring the wolf to the surface if only he didn't turn away. He doesn't get to see her frown, but can hear her storm up behind him.

"I thought this shirt was your favorite?" She demands.

"Changed my mind. You look better in any color but that one." He says it strained, like he'll be sick any minute. He knows that's her first conclusion when she places a hand on his forehead, checking for fever.

"Are you okay?" She asks. When he nods weakly, it's all business again. "Why the sudden change of mind?"

"Trust me, Stace. You don't wanna know." It hurts to see her storm off, but it's better than the hurt he would feel killing her.


	6. Beige

He can't help but wince when he sees the butterfly bandage on Lori's arm and think that it's his fault. Every time some new monster attacks, both she and Merton diligently join him in the fight with no thought for their own lives. Just another day in Pleasantville.

--

--

_They've all been hurt before. Some times no worse than in need of a band aid, some times blood gushing everywhere as one of them quickly begins to stitch. And no one asks where these wounds come from. When he showers after a game, there are no questions to the what the wraps and bandages and gauze are covering. Boys are rough, they play rough. The same goes for when it's noted that the skin above Merton's eyebrow has been carefully stitched back together, almost making him resemble Frankenstein's famous monster. Just T'nT again, with their bullying. Bloodshed made nerds tougher, after all, right? So why does Lori get off the hook as well, never questioned about her wounds? Is it because she takes karate and fights like a boy? Or is it part of Pleasantville's 'magic', that no one notices things are wrong but them?_

--

--

Merton joins them at his and Tommy's lockers, gothic attire striking as always. The only change is the beige Ace bandage wrapped around one hand. In an effort to break Lori's fall after the demon threw her, he twisted his wrist. It was Lori herself who applied the bandage herself, winding it carefully as the spike haired teen let out small whimpers of pain. It hurts to see his friends suffer and to know that they would give their lives to save his.

--

--

Tommy knows without their joint effort, something bad would have happened to many of the citizens long ago. They keep it safe and send every monster running with their tails between their legs. They are heroes and even heroes aren't immortal. Some day, there will be a wound they can't tend to and then there will be two left to protect the streets. Possibly culminating in one someday, until eventually, he is gone as well. Until that day comes, they just stock up on antiseptic and bandages, and hope for the best as they head out into the dark.


	7. Blue

You can nearly anything delivered in New York at almost any time if you know who to call and if you're somebody.

Tonight, this was not Tommy's problem.

The order had been sent in…Days ago? Weeks? He couldn't remember. When Spring Break came up, instead of heading off to check out some graveyard in Pennsylvania with Merton or staying behind and having a Jet Li/ Jackie Chan kung fu fest with Lori, he opted for New York. Of course he had lied to himself that there was really no special reason for going. It was New York, a place every one visited at least once in their lives. Who didn't want to go to New York.

The truth of the matter was, he had some one to see there. Some one he hadn't seen in quiet a long time.

Hence, the roses.

Choosing their color hadn't been too hard. Red was out of the question right off the bat. Too cliché. No, they would be the color of the streaks that had been in her hair, of the leopard print she had been wearing when the first met.

There was no doubt. Their color would be a brilliant blue.

--

--

It was Merton who picked out her address (disliking the term 'stalked'), even if he had warned the werewolf against going to meet her. Tommy's argument had been a simple one; Merton just didn't want to be on his own if he came face to face with some spirits on his little trip. That had been enough to shut them both up.

Of course, he hadn't gone to see her show. Roses or not, Broadway was just not his style. Never had been, never would be. Still, it seemed to be a nice gesture. He was in the neighborhood, thought he'd stop by and see an old lab partner. The roses were only a coincidence, he told himself.

Her eyes went wide when she found him in the doorway, a smile spreading on her face.

"Tommy!" Her accent was the same as it had been when they first met.

"Carole," The werewolf gave his own smile.


End file.
